The Red Notebook

A woman is mugged late at night in a Parisian boulevard just as she is about to enter her apartment building. Her mauve bag is stolen, along with her red notebook, where she keeps her innermost fears, dreams, and random thoughts. As she lies in a coma–the result of the night’s attack–a man finds her bag in the garbage. Curiosity gets the best of him, and Laurent looks within the bag for clues about the mysterious owner, discovering her photographs, her keys, and her soul. Though he barely knows her name, he falls in love with this woman with a red notebook and a signed copy of Accident Nocturne.

Antoine Laurain’s The Red Notebook is an endearing love story written in beautifully poetic prose. It is an enthralling mystery about chasing the unknown, the nostalgia for what could have been, and most importantly, the persistence of curiosity. This romantic tale is not about personal baggage, but about the special connections we have with these objects we carry around with us all the time, and the priceless qualities we bestow upon them. The Red Notebook reminds us of how significant these small treasures can be, and the stories a simple bag can tell.